


Glory and Gore

by chandrilas



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Crime AU, Crime Scenes, Detective Ben Solo, First Kiss, Fluff, Graphic Description, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Revenge, Rey is a Skywalker (Star Wars), Slow Burn, benarmie, brendol hux is an asshole whats new, mentions of sexual abuse, reyrose - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:20:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29010426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chandrilas/pseuds/chandrilas
Summary: In dreary London, Brendol Hux is murdered in his penthouse.A lost Ben Solo is brought over to aid the investigation but finds himself tangled in a web of moral battles as secrets begin to unfurl, with Armitage Hux in the centre.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 22
Kudos: 110





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Just gonna get some housekeeping out of the way:  
> I don't have a beta, I let Grammarly steal money from me every month to correct my errors so please excuse any issues! If you see anything, pop a comment and I'll fix it up!  
> Added bonus: I do suffer from ADHD so please be patient with me and my upload schedule!

"Solo, this is the last time you pull a stunt like this."

Ben wonders if that's not the first time this sentence has been spat at a generation of Solo's, but he sure as shit knows it won't be the last. Not if he could help it.

"The Commissioner will expect a full apology to not only him but his wife too and you will deliver on that if it's the last thing you do."

_Ah._

"Maybe he should have picked better friends." Ben Solo pointed out, somewhat delicately. Behind him, he could hear Connix audibly sigh. So maybe not as delicate as he hoped.

"You entered their home with an armed squad, no warrant might I add-"

"The warrant was in my pocket!"

"-And you nearly scared the Commissioner's wife into an early grave when you kicked the door into her bedroom!" Amilyn Holdo snapped back at Ben.

Ben drew his lips into a thin line and finally broke Holdo's poisonous glare, looking down to his shoes. He'd been so sure that trail leads straight to the Commissioner; the evidence pointed that way and had been for months, but just as he thought the break had been made- it slipped through his fingers. Ben left the residency humiliated and seething.

"It's not good enough, Ben. I can't keep throwing you lifelines." Holdo's tone dropped to a disappointed sigh. "Repercussions are being put in place."

His head shot up fast enough to induce whiplash. "Repercussions? I fucked up a part of my investigation; I'll admit that, but who doesn't? Christ, Connix had us chasing a rogue Wildcat for weeks because she thought it was-"

"Don't bring me into this!"

"Enough!" Holdo threw her hands up in despair at the bickering detectives. "Solo, you've upset a lot of people with not just the raid but your accusations against the Commissioner's agency. You pissed off powerful people, Ben. I'm sorry, but they want justice."

"You can't be serious." He spat at his boss. "How much did they pay you? Five figures?"

The room's air seemed to be sucked entirely out, and Ben knew he overstepped not just one mark, but several. Holdo's face tightened and as she drew herself up to full height- even if she was quite a several inches shorter then Ben.

"Get out."

Ben didn't need telling twice as he snatched his jacket from the back of the chair and stormed out of the building in a fit of rage. It was bullshit- organised bullshit. He knew Holdo wasn't his biggest fan, in fact, it'd be hard to find Ben one at all, but it didn't mean she could throw him under the bus for one mistake. Ben stood in the street as people edged around his towering form like a boulder in a stream and that's how he felt right now; an obsolete object stranded in a sea of normality.

"Fuck." Ben breathed. He should apologise, he knows this. But also, he won't. Ben felt lost and not for the first time. Without his job, he was just floating unnecessary, wasting oxygen and space. He didn't know if he'd lost his position, but with the stunt pulled with Holdo in the office, he was sure his replacement was already being filed. Standing on ceremony in the middle of the street wasn't helping.

Ben finally decided to move, but where he didn't know. He thought about going to the bar but drinking in the middle of the afternoon didn't sit in the stomach like the other resident drunks and newly jobless layabouts. Going home was a right off too; to sit in the apartment and stare at the concrete wall waiting for something to happen would drive him mad.

Family it was then.

He'd no sooner put his head in the jaws of a lion and tickle it then tell his mother that he'd most likely been sacked from the job that Leia had vouched for, which left one specialist left.

Dear old dad.

Han Solo had once done a similar job, and like Ben, been booted for insubordination. A family of rule breakers.

One stagnant subway stop later and Ben found himself at his father's garage, a sizable escape from the claws of real-life issues. Ben's father had carefully crafted the art of disappearing when situations turned sour, more so the older he got. Han Solo wasn't a 'went to the corner store for cigarettes and never came back' father; in fact, he was very proactive in his son's upbringing. When Ben grew older and more complicated, Han took the side bench rather than full court. Why? Who knows.

Ben ducked under the half-rolled garage door and was immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia; the twang of metal hit his throat, and the familiar lull of fuel smothered Ben in the aroma of the sanctuary.

"Dad?"

"In here, son." The scratchy voice of Han Solo called from the back room.

Ben picked his way around the strewn parts of his father's latest project and headed in, wrinkling his nose at the smell of wet dog.

"Tell me, who was it this time?" Han turned in his chair and regarded his son. Chewie scrambled from under the desk and began jumping up on Ben, noises of happiness coming from the Irish Wolfhound.

"Amilyn Holdo."

Han blinked once then whistled low. "Jesus, kid. What happened?"

Ben collapsed onto the sofa and tipped his head back. "The Priory case, she pulled the plug on it, and I had a few choice words to say about it."

"Well, I always said you're your mother's child." Han smiled at him. "I remember when Leia did something similar to the Mayor of Chicago."

That piqued his interest. Ben raised his head and eyebrow in a silent invitation for his father to continue.

"The Mayor at the time pulled funding on one of her projects, decided to use the money to give some politician a raise. At the nearest convenience, your mother marched up to him and cussed him out so bad that it'd make a sailor cringe." Han reminisced, a warm twinkle in his eye.

Ben snorted, but it made him smile none the less. They were an odd family, but it entirely made sense at the same time.

"Doesn't mean your mother isn't going to have your head for this," Han added already sensing Ben's argument culminating.

"Well, then it's a double standard."

"This is your mother, we're talking about." Han pointed out. The elder Solo had a point.

"So I'm to just lie down and take the beating?" Ben huffed regardless.

"Listen, I understand you're frustrated. Hard work went into that case, you'd be blind not to see that but throwing a fit wasn't the way to resolve the issue." Han sighed as Chewie rested his head on the old man's lap. "Maybe this will be good for you."

Ben groaned and covered his face with his arm. "I can't believe you said that."

Han shrugged and petted the dog's head. "It is what it is, kid. You dug this grave."

His father was not wrong. "Fine," Ben muttered and crossed his arms with a glare to his father. "What should I do?"

"Apologising might be a good start."

"That won't get me my job back."

"Ben, apologising isn't about getting back in her good books to go back to fighting crime. You'd be doing it because you're damn sorry you acted like a child!" Silence hung heavy between father and son; the only noise was the soft thumping of the wolfhound's tail on the floor. "Look... if you don't think you did nothing wrong, then fine. But at least apologise to her for your mother's sake."

Ben dropped his gaze and stared at the concrete floor. Holdo and his mother went far back and no doubt Leia's son had put an increasing strain on that bond- the least he could do was make sure he didn't permanently jeopardise it.

"Okay." Ben stood, giving Chewie one last pat on the head before heading for the door.

"I love you, Ben. We both do." Han smiled tiredly to his son. The younger Solo gave a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and left, hands in his pockets and his mood considerably lower.

He had the urge to crawl into his bed and disappear under the relentless waves of disappointment and anger, to let the shame and anxiousness consume him until he was nothing but a withered mess begging for someone to help him. It was a lot all at once, but nothing at the same time. Ben was angry at vast multitudes but at the same time, floating at the bottom of the ocean. Numb.

His phone buzzed next to his clenched fist. Ben fished it out of his pocket and tucked into a corner of the sidewalk, watching people stream by. I

_need to talk to you about something that has just come up. Come back to the station. - Connix_

Ben almost wanted to refuse. It was a tactic, to get him back under Holdo's grip and be forced into a humiliating submission for the benefit for her pride and his mother's disappointment, all at the expense of his butchered dignity. Refusing Connix was easy but refusing his curiosity wasn't. She needed him for something, and a part of him wanted to delay the inevitable conversation with Leia. Back to work, it was.

"Just so you know, I'm still mad you dropped the Wildcat incident into the argument like that." The younger detective huffed as Ben walked into the foyer of the station.

"If you're here just chastise me about that then join the queue, it's getting pretty larger." Ben hissed. "Please don't tell me this was a waste of my time."

"You have plenty of time to spare." Connix shot back with a hard stare before handing over an envelope. "Here."

"Perhaps you have a lifeline. This is a request for you to join the Metropolitan police in an investigation, where it seems to think your expertise is needed. What those skills are, I don't know." Connix smirked. "But there you go. Your get out of jail free card."

He was speechless. "What's the catch?" he demanded.

"As far as I'm aware, there isn't one. You fly to London in two days, and your cousin will pick you up."

This felt too good to be true. Not an hour had passed since Ben lost his job, now another one was just being dropped on his lap? "Did Holdo do this?" he asked warily.

"The order came from the Met itself, but she signed you onto it." So, she did have a little hand in this, and no doubt it would come back to haunt him in the future. But to give up an opportunity like this out of pride would be stupid, even for Ben's standards. Ben stuffed the envelope in his pocket and began heading out of the station.

"Take an umbrella!" Connix's voice faded as the door slammed shut.

***

The first thing he noticed was the rain. An intolerable downpour of warm rain pounded his head as he stood in the car park, his mood as dark as the storm clouds hanging overhead.

Rey was, unsurprisingly, late.

Dizziness seemed to be a kin of the Skywalker's as it wasn't the first time Ben had been left on ceremony waiting for Rey to remember something crucial- such as his jet-lagged body he'd dragged through London Heathrow. Ben adjusted his hoodie with little success and sat on top of his suitcase, watching the planes disappear into tiny pinpricks.

Rey had kept the details on the case tight, which gave Ben nothing to work on; all he had was a name and location. Hux. A google search had led him to a Wikipedia page and a company website with a collection of unimportant news headlines littered underneath. Through the long sentences and excessive words, he pulled out basic key facts: arms dealer, and a good one, had friends in high places, and one son.

Ben sighed and rotated his neck. Whatever the reason for the case, he knew it wouldn't be long enough. A few weeks in this shithole and he'd be back twiddling his thumbs in Chicago trying to decide what to do with his life. Ben's attitude had dug him too many graves.

A car honk broke his misery as his cousin bumped the curb, hopping out of the car in a flurry of apologies.

"I'm so sorry, Ben! Traffic was awful as usual- here I'll pop the boot- and last night we had a staff get together that always gets out of hand- do you need a hand?- so I slept in, and I really feel terrible- you need to slam it- and now look at you!"

A stream of unconsciousness followed Ben around as he flung his suitcase in the back and sought out the comfort of the warm passenger seat. Rey clambered into the car and brushed the empty pastry wrapper to the floor. "Here, an apology you might understand." She handed him a tall cup of black coffee, and indeed to Ben, a lifesaver.

"I contemplated using a station car so I could use the sirens to get here faster-"Rey's seamless chatter began as if the last time she'd seen him was yesterday, and not four years ago.

They had both changed but none more than Rey; long hair had been chopped to a bob, and she certainly gained a muscle mass that would threaten Ben's already fragile masculinity. Even in his tired stupor, he felt a warmth towards Rey's personal growth. She'd always been a little different and struggled with it, but now she owned it rather than feared it.

He was proud of her, and it was only 8 am. Jet lag must've been worse then he thought.

"Rey," Ben begged. "Shut up."

"Sorry." The Skywalker smiled sheepishly. "I'm just happy you're here."

"Yeah, me too…" Ben replied with little conviction. "Tell me about the case."

"Business tycoon found dead in his apartment, no signs of forced entry, but it seems no one was present when he was murdered."

"Hm." His eyes closed. "Family members?"

"Not many. His wife left twenty years ago, and any immediate family has not made themselves known. His son was out of town, but we're still waiting on the alibi to clear him."

"Enemies?"

"None apparent, but he had a lot of friends."

"Doesn't mean they had to like him," Ben replied, opening his eyes and peering out of the window. The rain had eased off as they entered the city, towering skyscrapers and closely packed buildings shielded them from the onslaught of poor weather. The rest of the journey was in silence as weariness began to set deeper into Ben's bones. Thankfully, Rey had dropped him off at his hotel instead then drag him to the station to plaster on a professional face and pretended his last shower wasn't nearly seventy-two hours ago.

A modest room fruitfully paid for by the Metropolitan Police for his uncapped stay, but at this point, he wouldn't care if it was four walls and a mattress. Ben didn't bother to unpack beyond throwing his toiletries in the bathroom and charging his electronics back to life. He pushed back the flimsy curtain and scanned the street below; lines of traffic like an ant march streamed through throngs of people on the rain stained concrete. Unbothered and untethered by the abhorrent downpour. He let the curtain drop then flopped back on to the bed.

Ben started awake when his phone vibrated to life beside him, and with a fumble, he squinted at the screen.

_Hey sunshine, come to the station for 9 am. - Rey_

"Sunshine." He grumbled before chucking his phone back on the bed and shuffling off to the bathroom.

Rey had graciously decided not to pick Ben up to save her dignity of not appearing late, again, but sent him a haphazard diagram of how to take the Underground to the Station office. It would have worked sufficiently enough if Rey had made somewhat of a chaotic mess of the paper- and coffee stain conveniently covering the last leg of his journey.

Ben leaned against the wall as the tube hurtled through the darkness. A business tycoon murdered in his home, allegedly alone. No family besides one son who might have a potential alibi, and an array of business friends that dance on the line of friend or foe. Did Brendol Hux have any enemies that would succumb to murder? Was he involved in something more profound- was he out of his depth? The train lurched to the left, but Ben Solo didn't budge. This case had demons already, and he was beginning to get a sickly feeling that this might end up like Chicago again. Rich man caught in a web of deceit was a carbon copy of the case that got him fired, and now he was walking the unwinding tightrope of trouble again. Perhaps not?

Rey was reliable. His cousin would hardly let him stray too far away from both out of concern and FOMO.

But would it be enough?

The doors pushed open, and Ben stepped onto the platform of Embankment station. Salarymen and government workers, minimum wage staff and students flowed around him like a stone in the water. The most surprising realisation he had come to was that he actually immensely enjoyed being in London; the sheer isolation from everything he knew had left him gloriously alienated. Ben's thrown together routine was gone, his mundane everyday rituals abandoned for a radically different environment where it was fresh and strange.

His trance was breaking as he stepped onto the street.

To his left, the London Thames' murky waters were occupied with a trawler churning the brown waters, and in the distance, Big Ben chimed.

"Hello, Big Ben."

He turned to the voice and was met by Rey's smug expression, who hadn't been addressing the ancient clock.

"I forgot to give you your access badge." She admitted before digging out the lanyard and dropping it into Ben's palm. "You'd have a hard time getting in otherwise."

Ben gave the pass a once over before stuffing into his pocket. "Thanks."

Rey began her forward march down the street. "Did you sleep well?"

"I think anyone who has to endure a thirteen-hour flight does."

"Not true. Rose and I went to Australia a year ago, and the flight was horrifically long, but we still walked to the Opera house and back before getting drunk at the cocktail bar."

Ben rolled his eyes but offered a smile anyway.

"How's Leia?" Rey asked after a moment. Ben wasn't looking forward to this branch of questions.

"She's good. Disappointed with me for insulting my boss and her friend, but what's new." Perhaps he was a tad harsh on himself, but the fundamentals were real; Leia had worked hard in the past to try to keep her son out of the trouble Ben continuously landed himself in, but the final straw had been with Holdo. Of course, he was angry that his mother chose her best friend over her own son, but even he realised that wasn't the case.

It had just been too late to say that. Ben had left Chicago angry and bitter.

Rey said nothing, but from the corner of his eye, he caught her worried glance. She wasn't privy to all of their family problems, but he knew that Connix was in reasonably close contact with her and no doubt her father had prepped her for Ben's arrival. But whatever Rey knew, she said nothing to Ben.

"You'll be pleased to know today we formally begin the investigation." Rey graciously changed the subject. "Our team is small. Snoke didn't want to put too much attention on this, for some reason."

"Snoke?" Ben puzzled.

"Our Chief. He was the one who filed for your assistance, actually." Rey smiled up to her cousin. "Under my recommendation, of course." True to being a Skywalker by meddling.

"Don't blame me if I'm not kissing your shoes with gratitude. I still have to see what mess I'm walking into." Ben muttered.

Rey made a noise of indignation. "I have you know my division is the best."

Any smart remark Ben was going to throwback was quelled as they arrived at their destination. The New Scotland Yard served as both a tourist attraction and a place of service and to Rey, it didn't seem to faze her the slightest to see the occasional gaggle of teenagers taking pictures of the station. Ben wanted to ask but thought better of it.

The duo breezed through the foyer with little interruption save for the occasional polite exchange from Rey's behalf. For once, Ben felt like a stranger. To be unseen was a privilege he soon discovered.

"I should start taking the stairs more often," Rey grumbled to no one in particular as they stood in the elevator. "I would feel less guilty eating sausage rolls for the fourth consecutive day,"

Ben said nothing but fixed his cousin with an amused stare.

With a soft ping, Rey and Ben finally headed into their office. He was surprised at how small it was; Rey was a big deal for someone her age from what he had gathered.

The Skywalker dumped her bag on the nearest desk and gave a groan as she pushed open a window. Ben wandered over to the desk and picked up a picture frame. Rey and who must have been Rose, both cheekily grinning up at him from what seemed to be-

"It's a penis park in South Korea," Rey smirked from behind him. "We thought going for the irony alone was pretty much worth the admission price."

"Has anyone told you that you're weird?" Ben asked her, following her bark of laughter into the conference room.

Inside the glass enclosure was a round table with only one other person sat at it who was fixated on the laptop in front of him.

"Ben, this is Finn. He's the second detective working on the Hux case. Finn, this is Ben Solo. He's the one from Chicago." Rey introduced as she set up the PowerPoint.

"Hey." Finn smiled at him before going back to the laptop. "Rey's told me a lot about you."

"Grand," Ben muttered as he sat down opposite him.

Rey turned off the lights and began the slide. "This is Brendol Hux. He runs a private military business that specialises in arms dealing with Western countries, all legally." Ben frowned at the picture. Brendol Hux was a mean-looking man with a broad face and a wider body. "We have yet to work out if he was also working under the table with more questionable terms," Rey added before clicking the next slide. "This was how he was found."

Ben could hear Finn make a noise of disgust and he was right to do so. The man who previously glared at Ben with disdain was now a limp mess loosely strapped to a chair. Ben leaned forward and squinted at the picture. "His eyes-"

"Eaten," Rey confirmed with a grimace. "This was how he was found. Most of the softer parts of him have been eaten away, and we're waiting for the internal diagnosis from the morgue. From what we can tell, he'd been like this for a week."

"A week?" Finn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We could tell by the uh, layers on which he soiled himself," Rey muttered with reluctance.

"And he was alive for most of the week?"

"We believe so." Rey nodded to Ben. "However did this didn't want Brendol to die quickly or peacefully- they wanted him to suffer to the very end."

"This is his only immediate family." Rey continued as she clicked to the next slide. "Armitage Hux, his son. Currently, we're processing his alibi, but it checks out so far."

Ben looked at the picture of Armitage. The similarities to Brendol were striking, but something else made up his son's attractive genetic makeup. "The mother?" He inquired.

"Hasn't seen or spoken to either of them for twenty years," Finn replied this time, turning his laptop to show Ben. A slim woman with sharp features stared back. "We're currently in the process to set up an interview."

"Finn is handling the mother whilst we," Rey said, sitting down and looking to Ben. "Handle Armitage."

Ben nodded and looked back to the board. So that's all they had? A brutalised father with a son out of town, a mother who didn't care. Whatever household this was, it wasn't a happy home. For a mother to abandon her son and leave him with a man who didn't look like he inherited a caring bone in his body…

"I'm assuming there are no witnesses?"

"The apartment wasn't broken into, and no sign of a struggle. The last person Brendol saw was someone he knew." Rey replied.

"When can we see the crime scene?" Ben asked, but Rey was already on her feet.

"Now."


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning: the following scenes contain graphic descriptions of a body!

Arkanis Tower was a titan amongst the other buildings it eclipsed. A tall, black edifice rose before Ben as he and Rey approached it from the central plaza. It stood like a martyr amid the concrete greys and polished glass structures; a gloating god raised above its servants. 

"This is the Arkanis Tower. It served as both the headquarters for Hux's empire and his home." Rey began to explain as they approached the police tape erected around the perimeter. "Whole building has been shut down, but the crime scene is located in the penthouse." 

They entered the building and into the main reception. White marble and incandescent lights bounced around the luxurious foyer with deep red embellishments adorning the otherwise sterile atmosphere. It seemed Hux had an aesthetic for modern simplism. 

"Looks like something out of a Resident Evil movie," Rey mused aloud. "Resident Evil is a franchise about this like, mega-corporation called Umbrella who deal under the table with bioweapons and these bioweapons created z-" 

"Rey I know what Resident Evil is." Ben cut off with a sharp look to his cousin. 

"Right." She responded sheepishly before ushering him to a back room. Inside was a dozen screens all with cameras registering different tower spots, a central hub for the security to oversee anything they needed. 

"We checked the security tapes, and nothing suspicious stands out. The entire month appears to be as normal as any other working quarter." 

Ben frowned, leaning forward and watching the screens. "Maybe we don't need to look for suspicious. The person who did it wasn't a stranger to Brendol, so in any circumstance, they wouldn't stand out." His eyes darted from each screen. They flickered back at him, unassuming and silent of the secrets they must know. Someone had gotten in, and that person was able to go straight to the top, walk-in, and murder a man without a moment's hesitation. 

"Any blind spots?" Ben asked as he stood up straight and crossed his arms. 

"According to the staff on duty, no. All cameras specifically target blind spots to stop potential break-ins. However, what _is_ interesting, is that Head of Security was on leave at the time and according to staff, pretty eager to get away from here." Rey added, eyes flickering to Ben. "He's being pulled in for questioning as we speak." 

"Which means the percentage of slip-ups happening increases," Ben combined before looking to Rey. "Do you have a list of all employees?" 

"No, but I can get one, why?" 

"Let's talk to them. If the Head of Security was off, that means staff might relax duties." Ben murmured, sitting down once more to watch the screens. 

"Which means mistake happen." Rey nodded before disappearing out of the door to flag down Finn. 

Ben was left alone as he rewound the tape from two weeks prior. 

A moderately active day with the general thrum of people; staff came and went throughout the day. The foyer was never too busy or chaotic; it was a decent establishment that most likely demanded the best of people. No sloppy interns. No dropout students looking for quick money. It was the kind of place that bred ambition and hunger, pitting one against the other in a sly game of battle royale. 

Ben paused the recording when a person entered, a shade different to anyone else who had passed through. The shade of orange, in fact. He couldn't tell much from the footage, but it was enough to pull at his curiosity. 

"That's Armitage Hux." 

Rey had entered behind him and looked over his shoulder. "He's one of the few people who is frequently seen coming and going, but conveniently isn't seen for the entire week his father had been murdered." 

"Making him a prime suspect." Ben pointed out as he swivelled in the chair to look at Rey. 

"Yes and no. Firstly, what is the motive for Armitage to kill his only parent left? Secondly, from what I know of his alibi, it's pretty solid. He told Finn he'd stayed with a friend because of some personal issues before flying to Ireland on some business." Rey frowned and sagged against the wall. "He's pretty much cleared." 

Ben clicked his tongue in disappointment. "Cleaning staff?" 

"None for the penthouse suite and I checked the cleaners who work for the firm, and they said they don't have access to those floors. Only people with a security pass can go to the topmost floors." 

Ben opened his mouth, but Rey had already lifted a piece of paper. "Everyone on the system with a pass." 

He made an impressed noise and stood, snatching the paper from her hand and stalking out of the room towards the elevator. 

_Brendol Hux._  
_Armitage Hux._  
_Archex Cardinal._

"Archex?" Ben scoffed, raising an eyebrow to his cousin. 

"Archex Cardinal is the head of Brendol's personal security." 

"Clearly didn't do a good job." He muttered. "Have we spoke to him?" 

"We can't find him," Rey said slowly, watching Ben whose head snapped up. 

"Cardinal has been missing since this investigation started. He's either hiding or this is something much bigger than a one-person murder." Rey said as they stepped into the elevator. She pulled out a pass and pressed it against the scanner. The doors slid shut, and they began their ascent. 

"Would Cardinal have a motive to off Brendol?" Ben asked, his brows furrowing in thought. 

"We can't say. Cardinal was a secretive man, nobody knew his personal life, and any time he was seen, was with Brendol. It would have to be something behind closed doors that could have set off a feud perhaps, but until we locate Cardinal, it's just speculation." Rey shrugged. 

The pair arrived at the top floor, and both stepped out of the apartment. 

You wouldn't have guessed a gruesome murder had happened in an apartment like this; the smooth ebony tiles still shone with decadence despite the horrors that occurred. The interior seemed a homage to the overall aesthetic of Arkanis; the furniture was deep charcoal colours with red accents adorning the spacious penthouse. It seemed Brendol Hux spared no expense for his own pleasures. 

"It happened in the back room," Rey called to Ben who was wandering around the living room. 

"Rey," Ben beckoned back to her, standing in the centre of the main room. 

The Skywalker joined Ben and placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow to her cousin. "What?" 

"Look around. What's missing?" 

Rey took a sweeping glance, her brow furrowed in thought before her eyes snapped open. "Pictures." 

Ben nodded and walked around the room once more. 

The most formalised family still had one or two pictures, even if it was a full family photo. Brendol had none. A stranger could walk into his home and think a single man lived here. 

"Not a single one." Ben felt a pang of sadness, and he didn't know why. 

Ben and Rey finally headed into the crime scene and was met by a smell so bad it bordered inhumanity. A combined mixture of decay and bodily fluids assaulted Ben's senses to the point his eyes began to water, and he quickly covered his nose to prevent any more acts of repulsion. 

In the middle of the room was a chair with four floodlights poised at each direction, various stains pockmarking the floor as they walked closer. 

"Why the floodlights?" Rey gasped into the sleeve of her coat. "Is it to make a statement or practical use?" 

Ben didn't know the answer either. "Is the autopsy finished?" 

"I'll go check." Rey excused herself from the room with haste, casting one last queasy glance at the crime scene. 

Ben followed suit, but instead of heading to the living room, he took a detour to the hallway.

The first room he entered was the bathroom; nothing stood out remotely exciting or useful to the investigation. Brendol Hux was a main of plain vanity- didn't dabble with anything too complicated but put money behind the basic male needs: cologne and aftershave. No variations, just two bottles. There was once again no sign of a second person that shared the bathroom. 

As if a means to be erased. 

Ben left the bathroom and ventured into a door on the far corner. The room, like the rest of the house, was neat and well orderly. A single bed was against the window with a single pillow propped against the wall, and the curtain had to be left drawn open, the sunlight streaming in and revealing a high multitude of dust. 

Ben walked to the desk and dragged his finger along the surface, creating a trench line of dust particles that had settled. This room hadn't been used in a long time, longer perhaps then what Armitage Hux had claimed. 

The question that seemed to haunt Ben was why? Why did Armitage and Brendol Hux seem so distant? 

Armitage's room was devoid of any personal affections like the rest of the house, a shell for the basic living necessities. Ben pried open a drawer and was about to close it when something caught his eye; a picture peaked out from under a notepad. He carefully drew it out and went closer to the window. 

"This is your mom then," Ben murmured down to the picture. A young Armitage Hux stared back with a woman, similar orange hair and sharp features. He slid it in his coat and taking one last look at the room, and he exited back into the hallway. 

The whole apartment felt lonely. But the loneliness didn't come from Brendol, and Ben Solo was becoming increasingly interested in who Armitage Hux was. 

"Ben." Rey came out from the kitchen and towards him. "Autopsy is finished, we should go." 

Ben followed Rey back out to the elevator and down to the main building with a wordless nod, a frown etched into his brow. 

"Rey!" 

Finn jogged over as they walked into the main foyer, a list in his hand. "I got a list of the employees, and it seems they hired someone new two weeks ago. A day after HoS went on his vacation." 

"Anything off about him?" 

"No. A university student looking to make some money, his record is straight. I'm going to head over and talk to him, see what he's got to say. I'll let you know what happens." 

Rey nodded and with a smile, patted his arm then followed Ben back out into the main street. 

"Head of Security goes on a well-needed vacation, and a new staff member starts a day later. Is it intentional or a coincidence?" Rey asked as they walked down the street. 

"I think it's a well-placed coincidence. A new staff member wouldn't know what is wrong or right, so there could have been a removal of cameras between the time there was a shift change. The new staff member wouldn't know the difference." Ben theorised. 

"So you think a blind spot was created during that time?" 

Ben shrugged. "We'll soon find out." 

"I'm gonna warn you; it's not pretty." 

Rose Tico handed them both nose plugs then carefully pulled back the sheet. The sight of Brendol Hux alone made Ben want to quit his job and disappear. 

It was a mess. Where Brendol's eyes had been was burrowed tunnels of flesh disappearing back into his skull, the skin had been ruptured with holes disappearing into his face. Around his mouth had been eaten away to reveal yellowing teeth and his swollen tongue. The rest of his body was no better. More tunnels of ruptured feasted on flesh.

"What the fuck." Was all Rey could offer as her first assessment as she surveyed the body before looking helplessly to Rose for an explanation. 

"Cause of death was internal haemorrhaging and blood loss. But what caused that to happen is..." Rose trailed off before picking up a jar. "This thing." 

Ben stepped closer. "What is that?" 

"No idea. I sent one off to Forensics." 

"You mean to say there was more than one?" Rey queried as she joined Ben's side to inspect the insect. 

"I found four in his body in total." Rose shuddered as she set the jar away from her. "All burrowed in. They are what caused the damage to Brendol, and ultimately, killed him. It reminds me of the Scarab beetles in The Mummy." 

Rey gave an enthusiastic nod before turning to Ben. "So in The Mummy-" 

"Rey I've seen The Mummy." Ben cut her off quickly as he circled Brendol's corpse once more. 

This death wasn't fast - it was agonising and vulgar. It goes beyond murder and teeters on the brink of torture; whatever this was, it was meant to be horror inducing. It was meant to be a living nightmare, something that crosses into fiction because indeed, the murder of this calibre couldn't happen in real life. 

"How long was he alive for?" 

"I'd say a week. The bodily fluids range from the day this must have begun to the moment of his death. He was alive until he bled out." 

Rey shuddered once more and stepped away from the body. The sound of a phone ringing filled the room, and Rey excused herself, skipping out of the room a little too quickly. 

"So, you're Ben Solo," Rose asked as she covered the body back up. 

"I am." He replied slowly, eyeing Rose. 

"Rey's told me a lot about you." She added quickly. "Good things, I mean." 

"It's starting to seem like everyone knows more about me then I do," Ben muttered as he took another look at the insect. 

"Ben." Rey pushed open the door. "Armitage Hux is here." 

The younger Hux didn't seem particularly pleased to be sat in the interrogation room, and Ben couldn't help feel a sense of confliction bubbling. He wasn't expected sorrow; it was very clear from the evidence they had no love lost between the father and son, but annoyance? Inconvenience? Even if there were oceans between their affection, you'd want answers, surely?

"Ready?" Rey asked as she picked up the file and looked to Ben. 

With a nod, he followed his colleague into the room and took a seat opposite. 

"Good afternoon, Armitage. I'm DI Skywalker, and this is Detective Inspector Solo, we're investigating your father's murder." Rey began lightly as she set the recorder down and smiled kindly to the man opposite. "We're sorry for your loss." 

"Thank you," Hux replied with little conviction. "Though I'm confused as to why I was pulled into the station. I believe I gave my alibi and answers to your inspectors already." 

"Yes, but we would like to ask you them ourselves." Rey smiled a bit more tightly before crossing her fingers on the table. 

Ben saw Armitage's jaw twitch, but he made a motion with his hand to go forward. 

"Where were you, the night your father was murdered?" 

"I was at an acquaintance's house. I had a... falling out with my romantic partner and needed somewhere to stay." He answered lightly, eyes not leaving Rey. 

"Why not go home?" Ben interjected. 

Hux's eyes snapped to Ben. The coldness of his green eyes made his hair's stand on edge. 

"My father... did not approve of my romantic status." 

"Meaning?" 

"Meaning, detective, that he didn't like gay people," Hux replied coolly. "I'd rather sleep on someone's sofa then endure a torrent of hateful slurs, wouldn't you?" 

Ben had no reply but didn't look away from him. 

"Your father didn't approve of your choices?" Rey pressed on. 

"No. He made that abundantly clear whenever we were in the same room. My father was a rabid traditionalist and having a son that wasn't the same breed was, in his eyes, the greatest shame that ever came from his life." 

"I take it your relationship with him was poor, then." 

Hux sighed and looked away, crossing his leg. "Short and to the point, my father didn't have a son. I was a roommate at best, a useless presence at worst. We didn't have a relationship, to begin with." 

Ben knew he wasn't lying. The evidence made that glaringly apparent from the start. Brendol Hux had lived his life as a single man, not a single father. "How did that make you feel?" 

Armitage snorted. "Indifferent." 

Rey raised an eyebrow and sat back. "Indifferent?" She repeated back to him. 

"How can you mourn something that didn't exist?" Hux replied irritably. "My father never showed me love ever. He didn't just change one day- he hated me from the start. All I have ever known was his disappointment. So, yes, indifferent. You're asking me how I feel about a stranger." 

It took the words out of Rey's mouth. 

"You went to Ireland for a few days after your stay with this acquaintance. Why?" Ben urged. 

"I went back home." Armitage's reply was softer than his usual bite, an expression crossing over his face before the steel mask went back up. 

"Elaborate." 

"I was born in Ireland, and we own an estate there. It was originally where I lived until we moved to London, so I went back to spend some alone time. Clear my head." Hux said carefully, and it was evident they were crossing into uncharted territory. 

"And no one made contact to you about your father?" Ben pressed on. 

"Like I said," Hux gritted out. "We were basically strangers." 

Ben lifted his hand in surrender then leaned back in his seat, letting Rey takeover. 

"One last question, Armitage: did your father have any enemies? Anyone that would do this to him?" 

Ben zeroed in on the younger man and watched for any sign of rebuttal. 

"He knew a lot of people and no doubt his award-winning personality rattled someone along the way, but I don't know anyone who would go as far to butcher him. I guess I wasn't the only castaway soul." And that was that. 

Ben watched as Armitage Hux stood and breezed out the interrogation room without another glance back to the detectives before he frowned at the wall in front of him.   
He didn't know what else to expect, but the flippancy that came of the younger Hux still surprised him; his only blood relative to be mutilated- 

"Rey," Ben said suddenly. 

"Mhm?" She hummed back as she scribbled something on a piece of paper. 

"Who found the body?" 

"Security personnel. When he didn't turn up for a meeting, someone went up to check on him and found him like that." 

"And did anyone tell Armitage Hux what had happened?" Ben pushed on.

"It was one of our officers who called him. Why?" she frowned, looking up from her paper. 

"He said butchered. How did he know the state of his father's corpse if your officers called him?" Ben met her gaze. 

Rey opened her mouth before closing it again, turning her frown to the wall. 

They both sat in silence with their thoughts racing. 

Armitage Hux had sparked an interest in Ben, an itch that he wanted to scratch. Estranged wasn't the word to describe Brendol and his son's relationship, and usually, Ben would have taken that and left it alone- but something was off. There was something about Armitage Hux that wasn't right. 


	3. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's no TW in this chapter!
> 
> Thank you so much for all the support and comments, it means a lot to me! Once again, pls excuse any mistakes!

Rain thundered against the windows of the police station, and for once, there was silence. 

The past hour he'd dealt with Rey and Finn's back and forth about a tv show they had both been following, and Ben, for the most part, tolerated Rey's stream of consciousness, however since the start of the investigation, his mind had been elsewhere. 

His train of thought had been on the younger Hux; a sharp man with a sharper tongue who had lived his entire life completely invisible. Perhaps both Ben and Rey had been stupid to expect Armitage to be upset about his father's demise- maybe Hux now felt liberated? The Skywalker duo had been raised in a loving home with a close family; Armitage had told them without flinching that he was merely dirt under his father's boot.

Ben let out a muffled groan and dragged his hands down his face. 

"Mr Solo?"

"Yeah?" His hands dropped to the table, and he looked to the nervous intern. 

"The Chief would like to see you in his office." 

A pang of anxiety smacked to the bottom of his stomach, but he brushed it off as he stood and headed to the elevators. Ben did not need to be concerned though his questionable superiority problem made a cause for concern. If Snoke had decided that having Solo part of the team was a ticking timebomb waiting to unleash chaos upon an evidently sensitive criminal case, then Ben couldn't fight back. Maybe Holdo had gotten her revenge after all. 

By the time Ben had reached Snoke's office, he had cycled through four possibilities of what would happen, and neither of them was remotely positive. It was a product of his mental state to assume the worst, and he wished he had his father's optimism, but it seemed more of his mother had seeped into his mental make-up then he had suspected. 

He rapped gently at the door and waited until the man beckoned him in. 

"Ben Solo." Snoke sat back and regarded him with a calculating stare, sending the hairs on Ben's neck on edge. 

"You wished to see me, sir." 

"Take a seat." Snoke beckoned to the chair in front of the desk. 

Once Ben had sat, Snoke, pulled out a file and flicked through it before letting out an impressive hum. "A man of talents I see." 

Ben stayed silent but none the less trusting. He felt like he couldn't trust the Chief with an inch of his life, even for the head of the Met. Everything about him screamed... wrong. Ben felt uncomfortable in his presence; he didn't trust his thin sharp features- not like Armitage's, who was more refined... 

Why did he think that? 

He was going shit-stir crazy. 

"I guess that would depend on the person you asked." Ben countered politely but held not an ounce of humour to what should have been a light joke.

He coined it down to a long day. 

Snoke's eyes roved from the paper to Ben's face, searching silently before dropping the form with a soft slap on the wood. "The first day of the investigation, then. Tell me, Mr Solo, what do you make of it?" 

Ben gave a large inhale of breath and broke Snoke's piercing stare, dropping his eyes to the desk. "Brendol Hux made himself a powerful enemy, someone who hated the man so much to brutalise him worse than any crime author could dream up. A closer inspection into his personal life shows us that even though Brendol had a son, it was nothing short of just a conversational formality." 

"Meaning what exactly?" 

"They didn't have a relationship." Ben elaborated. "A birth certificate is the damning evidence that Brendol had a responsibility." 

"So, you lean on him as a suspect?" Snoke implored. 

"Armitage's alibi is clean. We can't go after every neglected son when their fathers are murdered, despite how easy it is to convict them." Ben scratched his chin and looked out of the window and into the downpour, looking anywhere but Snoke's face. 

"Keep a close eye on him, nonetheless. But it still seems you have a penance for our more perplexing cases, something that this branch lacks." Snoke droned on never once breaking his stare on Ben. "Perhaps, I can arrange something to benefit both of us." 

Ben's eyes snapped to Snoke. 

"You help me with our more undesirable cases. Whether by solving them or finding more... discreet ways of closing them." Snoke drawled as he picked up Ben's file once more. 

Ben Solo felt his heart in his throat. What was Snoke suggesting? 

"A crime-fighting henchman to clear up politicians' messes?" Ben bit out sharply. 

"In exchange, I'll make sure you have all the freedom you desire. Your actions are untouchable. Whether in our branch, or the Chicago one." Snoke finished. "Your job reinstated, or a more beneficial one here. No one will interfere with your work." 

That shut Ben up. 

Snoke had hit a fragile nerve; all Ben ever had was his work. Through the highs and lows of life, he'd been able to throw himself waist-deep into the beating hive of his job. It was easy to work the internal conflicts out by mental and physical exhaustion then to look it in the face. Holdo had forced him into harsh reality – into the battlefield. Without his job, he'd be stuck in a room with his demons. 

But to work, uninterrupted? To have unadulterated freedom? 

To have an untouchable power. 

"No more Priory case incidents." Snoke punctuated, and Ben Solo finally cracked. 

"What do you want me to do?" 

"For now? Just report in with me from time to time. The Hux case takes precedent, and I want it tied up swiftly," Snoke sighed as he came to a stand. "Even if it means using the neglected son." 

Ben's temperature ran cold but gave a rapt nod and stood, dismissing himself and striding into the elevator. He waited for the doors to slide shut before sagging against the wall, head dropping to his chest. 

"What the fuck..." Ben breathed into the silence before inhaling swiftly. 

Hold it together. 

The elevator door slid open, and he carried himself back to the conference room, already hearing the buzz of familiar voices. 

"Hey, Solo." Rey greeted him as she chucked a sandwich at him and smiled. "Meatball sub, for a meatball man." 

"I think the term is 'meathead'," Finn corrected as he wiped his hands from his own sandwich. 

Ben gave a wordless thank you and set the sandwich aside, stomach still a tad tender from the autopsy earlier. "So, where are we? What do we have?" 

Rey lifted to her feet as she wiped her mouth with the back of the hand. "Okay," she cleared a whiteboard then stuck a picture of Brendol in the middle. "Brendol Hux is last seen on Saturday returning to Arkanis Tower from a business meeting at around 3 pm. He is alone and takes the elevator to his apartment, where his killer apprehends him. At some point that evening, he sends various emails cancelling business appointments, essentially clearing his schedule. From that point up until security come to check on him a week later, he is tortured and subsequently killed." 

Rey picked up a picture of the beetle and stuck it beside the elder Hux. 

"This lovely critter was found in Hux's body, burrowed in deep along with some friends. Alongside our beetle, Brendol was placed in a chair with four floodlights poised onto his position. The forensic team said that the lights had been left on for a subsequent enough time for the batteries to run dry." 

Then the picture of Armitage Hux went up. 

"The only suspects we have as of today is Armitage Hux, Brendol's son and Archex Cardinal, head of Brendol's private security and is currently missing. Armitage has a very distant relationship with his father, perhaps too distant for him to even dwell on killing his old man. Brendol's Stone Age views on sexuality might also be a motive for Armitage to exact revenge. Regardless, his alibi is solid. We have evidence of Armitage being in the places he said he was at the time and a return ticket from Ireland. Cardinal, the closest person to Brendol, disappeared around the same time his murderer apprehended Brendol. So either Cardinal is a victim to a bigger crime, or he, in fact, offed Hux. Finn, did you get anywhere with security?" 

The man nodded as he slurped his Sprite. "Head of Security had been overdue on his holiday with an irate wife. When he processed the new applicant, he dropped the responsibility on another employee, who in turn, dropped it onto a junior member of staff to train the newbie. During this time, a camera in the stairwell, here," Finn stood and pointed to a blueprint of the Arkanis Tower. "Was turned off. Our new boy didn't think it was an issue because he wasn't aware it was an important blind spot. Subsequently, this stairwell leads up to the topmost floors."

"So the killer took advantage of rookie errors?" Ben muttered, leaning back. "Impressive." 

Rey shot him a dirty look. 

"Basically. The killer knows Arkanis Tower well enough to pull tricks like this. They knew that until rookie here was off the clock, they had the full playground." Finn nodded. 

"So we have a person who is still, virtually undetectable?" Rey said as she looked around her team. "Fantastic." 

"Has forensics got back about the beetle?" Ben turned to Rey, who in turn shook her head. 

"Still waiting." 

"I'm going to head over to the lab now." Finn stood and grabbed his coat. "We need something, even if it's just a country of origin." 

Rey nodded before turning back to the board, frowning in thought. "It can't be this invincible; something needs to be amiss." 

Ben stood and joined his cousin's side, folding his arms. "This wasn't a robbery; this murder was personal. Whoever did this, wanted Brendol to suffer. They wanted every second of his life to be agony. A stranger wouldn't do that." 

"So, it has to be someone he knows?" Rey sighed exasperatedly. "Or at least someone he's come in contact with." 

"Which could be thousands." 

Rey rubbed her temple. "Let's call it a day, we're splitting hairs on nothing. Go home, get some sleep." 

Ben didn't want to go back to the hotel. He didn't want to be alone. 

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ben muttered. 

Back at the hotel, Ben led in the faint glow of the tv screen, mulling over the day in his thoughts. There had to be a loose bolt in the case, and Ben would find it; he was struggling to find the entry point. 

The frustration was eating at him. How couldn't he crack the shell? 

Sleep had evaded Ben Solo all night, and he knew a losing fight when he saw it. It only took a few minutes to drag the rest of his clothes back on, and before long, he was in the cold streets of London in search of some form of mental stimulation. 

In Chicago, he'd go to his dad's garage and work on the car, but now he was in unknown territory wholly lost. 

Ben liked it. The sense of alienation thrilled him. 

His wandering led him to a bar just off the corner of Soho, a red brick industrial building that most likely attracted students and hipsters was now a quiet quell of a few late-night stragglers, with the bar mostly empty. 

Ben walked over and leaned on the marble surface, eyes cast down. 

"What can I get you?" A thick Russian accent broke the silence. 

He looked up and stood before him was a tall blonde woman, staring down at him with a stoic expression. 

"Double whiskey." He placed the cash on the bar, ran a hand over his hair, and closed his eyes for the briefest moment. 

If things were terrible, he and his father would go for a drink in the sports bar and talk about everything but the obvious elephant in the room which was Ben's mental state. He knew his father worried, but he also knew his father wasn't stupid enough to point out what Ben already knew. 

The glass clinked down onto the marble in front of him, and he gave a soft thanks back before taking a long savouring sip. 

Ben unsurprisingly missed his father tonight. Sitting and drinking his feelings away usually felt better and less depressing when there was two. 

"Long day, detective?" 

Ben's eyes shot up, and he looked to his left. Stood by his side was Armitage Hux, hands placed into a long pea coat and the same acerbic expression on his face, who was staring at Ben. 

"Yeah, you could say that," Ben replied slowly, eyeing the younger Hux as he took a seat next to Ben. Wordlessly, the barkeep drew a drink and placed in front of Armitage before walking away. 

"I assume asking you about it would be redundant since it most likely revolves around my father?" 

"Sorry." Ben grimaced in an agreement as he took another swig. "I should probably leave too." 

"You don't strike me as someone who is a stickler for the rules," Armitage replied, shrugging off his coat. 

He certainly wasn't wrong. 

They both sat in silence with their drinks for a while; both men seemingly lost in their thoughts. It was Ben who broke the silence first, still staring off at a piece of the bar. 

"Being honest, this case is unusual." 

That broke Armitage's train of thought too, and in the corner of Ben's eye, he saw the man look to him. "I thought you couldn't talk about it?" 

"I'm not! I just... it's a passing comment." Ben scratched his chin and felt the tips of his ears get hot. 

Why the fuck did he say that? 

Silence hung again. 

"I'd be shocked if my father didn't make a scene even in his own demise." Armitage finally followed up before ordering two drinks. 

Ben gave a wordless thanks and took the drink. "Can I ask why you two are so distant?" 

There was a pause, and once again, those cold green eyes met with Ben's. "Off duty?" 

"Off duty." 

"I think to my father I was an ill omen. My parent's relationship was also a sham; my father knocked her up, and in Ireland, at the time, abortion was illegal. She was forced to have me, and Brendol wasn't allowed to leave her roadside, so he married my mother to avoid any scandal that would affect his career. From day one, I've always known I was unwelcome." Armitage watched the ice slowly melt in his drink. "You get used to it, and surprisingly quickly." 

Ben was speechless as he stared at the young Hux. 

"So, off duty, questioning my mother is completely pointless because I can already tell you what she'll say." 

"We have to cover all bases," Ben murmured. "But I'm sorry that... it was difficult for you." 

"Is that an off duty sorry?" Armitage gave a rare smile, causing Ben to blink but give him one back. 

"Yeah." 

They both finished their drinks in silence, but this time it wasn't uncomfortable or cold; in fact, Ben alarmingly discovered on his way back to the hotel that he really enjoyed Armitage's company- which was both against the rules and wrong. Officially, he should have stood up and left without a second glance, but something compelled him to stay. 

Armitage was captivating, dangerously captivating. 

Ben came to a dead stop in the street, his cold breath billowing out in front of him. 

He was walking on thin ice that was one break away from collapsing inwards. 

"I basically told everyone in school that Jurassic Park was real." 

As Ben walked into the office the following morning, he could hear Finn's laughter trail down the hall from the conference room. 

"I was so diehard on the idea that it would happen!" Rey complained as she cradled her morning coffee, her hair pulled into two short French braids. 

"How can you be this cheerful in the morning?" Ben grunted as a greeting.

"I was telling Finn about when you convince me Jurassic Park could happen." 

Ben broke his stupor and smiled as he sat beside his cousin, basking in the smug memories of young Rey tearing off into the house to tell her father. "That was a great day." 

"It wasn't. I was terrified of mosquitos for years." 

Finn shook his head with a smile, then held up a file. "Another thing to put a smile on your face: we have the information back from forensics regarding the critter." 

"Please tell me it's good." Rey sat up and placed her coffee to the side. 

"This is called the Parnassos beetle, found more commonly in places like Latin America." 

"Seems far from home," Ben muttered as he took a picture and looked down to the gold beetle. 

"It thrives in warm climates, is a predator to smaller insects and has a poison gland which will use against bigger predators, they bury into tunnels for warmth-" 

"What?" Ben interrupted. 

Finn paused and looked to Ben. "A poison gland?" 

"No, the burying thing," Ben said impatiently as he got to his feet. 

"Oh! So the beetle will bury into warm soil to preserve heat." 

Ben paced the room slightly before coming to a stop, his mouth falling open slightly. "Oh." 

Rey frowned. "Ben?" 

Before she could continue further, Ben had shot out of the conference room and down to the evidence locker. He fumbled in the passcode then pushed around the boxes until he found the right one. Grabbing the cardboard box, he headed back to the conference room and placed it on the desk before he began unplugging things. 

"Trying to be energy efficient?" Rey asked slowly as she watched her cousin, warily. 

"Finn said they burrow under warmth." Ben began as he picked up the four floodlights from the box and set them up. "Well London isn't exactly Latin America, and Brendol wasn't poisoned."

Rey stood and wandered over to Ben. "Do you think?" She trailed off. 

Ben turned them on and winced at the brightness before turning to Rey. "Step into the centre." 

Rey stepped over the strewn cables and into the middle of the floodlights. They all stood in silence as Rey was basked in a glare of light, her hands on her hips as she squinted at the other two. 

"Other then severely damaging my retinas, I don't know if-" 

"The beetles burrow into warm soil. They didn't poison Brendol because he wasn't a threat, but they'd bury to preserve their health, right?" 

Rey fell silent then gasped. "So, the floodlights weren't decorative?" 

"No. Think about it; the rest of the room was cold. The floodlights gradually warmed Brendol's body until it became a simulation of warm soil- the beetles would have found the closest thing to save them." Ben explained, looking to both Finn and Rey. "The suspect would have to know a great deal about the Parnassos beetle to be certain the beetles would burrow into his flesh." 

"I am getting warm," Rey added as she shrugged off her coat and tossed it back to the table. 

"I still think the floodlights were a decorative feature as well," Finn said as he went back to the whiteboard and stared at the pictures. "There are several ways to heat someone, and I agree the floodlights did the job of cooking him, but I also think this served another purpose. They wanted Brendol to feel exposed. Uncomfortable. This was both a statement and practicality." 

"Finn's right." Ben agreed. 

"So, we're looking for someone who knows about beetles and would hate Brendol enough to apply it." Rey sighed as she aired her arms out. "How will this help us, Ben?" 

"It's something else to look out for," Ben mumbled as he added the picture of the curled-up beetle to the board.   
Rey opened her mouth to say something until her phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up and answered a frown etched on her face before her eyes snapped open and she hung up. 

"There's another body."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im @gleesuns on twt <3


	4. IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly- thank you for your patience! The past couple of weeks, I really struggled mentally- ADHD and depression really suck, especially when it's at the same time. In the same vein, this chapter may not be the best on the basis that I struggled with it. One day I might go back and rewrite it, but for now, I'd rather push the story forward. 
> 
> Secondly, this is heavy on the plot but I promise you, its a big benarmie chapter next week (or the week after).
> 
> CW: I don't go into much detail but it does briefly mention sexual assault.

Anthony Brooks had seen better days- days didn't involve being flung off a building. 

"Holy shit," Finn muttered as they stared down at the shattered body before all peering at the hole in the roof that Brooks had crashed through. 

"I second that." Rey grimaced before squatting down by the body. "I don't know where to start; he's like a shattered china plate." 

Ben's forehead scrunched as they peered through the human-sized hole. "He broke through four layers of plaster, concrete, metal, and insulation. His swan dive was from somewhere high enough to breach this roof with this velocity." 

"Where are we?" Rey stood from her crouch, heading to the window. 

"This is the Regal Hotel. Someone complained about a loud noise two days ago, and it wasn't until this morning Maintenace checked the conference room where it was reported. Here they found Brooks."

"Any witnesses?"

"Just the person who reported the noise." 

"Anthony Brooks breaks through the Regal Hotel roof and isn't discovered until this morning. No witnesses, and we don't know where he fell from." Rey began listing off as she circled the body and carefully checked the jacket of the corpse. 

"Is there roof access?" Ben asked the Manager, who was hovering by the door. He gave a nervous nod and left hastily to open the door.

Ben and Finn followed him up the fire access and onto the roof, the sunlight glaring off the London cityscape's towering buildings. The hotel was surrounded by tall skyscrapers- looming potential murderers at each point. 

"Ben." 

Ben turned and looked to Finn, who was pointing at a familiar black building. 

"Arkanis Tower," Ben murmured as he walked forward. "And it's close too." 

"Do you think it's linked?" Finn asked him. 

"Hux and Brooks? It could make sense. Would definitely change the dynamic of Brendol's murder." 

It would turn a one-person revenge murder into a planned homicide case. The question was if it was true; Both Hux and Brooks suffered a gruesome end, but Brendol was slowly and painfully tortured, whereas Brooks had only to suffer for a few moments. 

Rey joined them on the roof, pocketing the latex gloves. "Found this in his wallet." 

Ben turned and looked to the paper in her hand. It was a business card for none other than Brendol Hux. 

"So we have a body close to the Tower and now a possible link to another victim," Finn said, crossing his arms. "I think we should probably start looking at potential homicide." 

"We start throwing the word homicide around, and the press will turn into packs of rabid animals," Rey muttered bitterly as she squinted at the other buildings before backing to Arkanis. "But I hate to say it, Finn; I think you might be right." 

"I know that was hard for you, Rey. Well done." Finn teased briefly before becoming serious once more. "I'll take this to the tower and begin looking around. There has to be something on Brooks in there." 

"Whilst you're doing that, I'm going to take Ben to Brook's apartment and start looking around." Rey nodded in agreement before leading her team down from the roof and past the broken body of Anthony Brooks. "Finn, if you're back before we are, head down to Rose and see what she has to say." 

With a final bow of his head, Finn disappeared out of the building and into the rain. 

The weather did not let up as Rey's car pulled up outside the tall ivory stone apartment buildings. Brooks lived in posher districts of London. Even mighty men fell and cracked like mortals. 

Police tape had already cordoned off his home, and Ben stepped under it, pushing open the door and heading inside the quiet apartment. The dust had settled heavily in the air but not at the volume of Armitage's room. At a glance, it seemed normal, lived in bachelor house. 

Ben could hear Rey walking around on the floors above him, the soft creaking of floorboards accompanying Ben as he wandered around the bottom floor. Nothing stood out of place: a man living alone in the luxuries he could afford. 

"Nothing so far. Seems kind of boring, to be honest." Rey sighed as she pushed open the door to his study. Ben finally joining her upstairs. 

Suddenly Ben's interested piqued; the study was dishevelled. A tidy man would maintain an orderly office, primarily if he worked most of his life. To find his office in the worst state either meant someone else had been here, or Brooks had been frantic about something. 

The cousins exchanged a look before beginning to search the rubble, checking the discarded files and books that had been strewn around the room. Nothing stood out at first; torn bank statements and trivial pieces of paper, but when Ben picked up a notebook that had been crammed into the corner of a bookshelf, he had known gold was struck. 

"Rey." He called back to his cousin. 

Her footfalls came behind him, and as Ben pulled open the book. 

It looked normal at the start: some offhand quotes about banking, a few statistics and addresses, but it was the middle of the book that caught Ben's eye. 

On each page were pictures of young men with a code word underneath them, all of them looking tired and scared. 

"What is this?" Rey trailed off as she stared wide-eyed at the notebook. 

"These words mean something," Ben muttered before climbing over the furniture to the laptop discarded on the desk. 

Someone had poorly tried to destroy it, and even when Ben managed to boot it up, the demand for a password blocked him entirely. 

"Shit." He growled with frustration. 

"We have a tech guy that'll get into that easy," Rey added quickly to calm Ben's frustration. "We'll take it back with us." 

Ben remained in a moody silence as Rey packed up the core evidence and led them back to the car, and thankfully, Rey entertained his stupor. 

Something about this case was about to take a darker turn; the motive creeping around in a sinister way. Whatever that notebook was about indeed held the key- the reason why both Brooks and Hux had met horrific ends. 

Ben already had a theory forming. A sickening realisation, and he hoped it was wrong. 

He opened the notebook again, turning each page to find something else they hadn't noticed when they were in the apartment. At first, it was the same. Four pages with four boys, with a single word, etched underneath in black ink. But as Ben went to close the book with annoyance, he noticed something else. There was a page missing. 

"Someone has ripped out a page." Ben finally broke the silence, his finger moving along the torn seam of the paper. 

"Oh?" 

Ben showed her when she stopped at a light, and Rey's brow furrowed. "So what do you think that is?" 

"My guesses there was something in here that was worthy of hiding," Ben replied before slowly closing the book once more. "Something that Brooks didn't want to be found at all." 

"Beyond these four people? Because it looked like Brook's didn't want this notebook discovered." Rey countered before sighing and leaning back in the seat. "I have a bad feeling, Ben." 

"So do I." 

Alone in the hotel room, Ben Solo sat in silence. 

When they arrived at the station, it turned out that Rey's technician couldn't make it until the next day. His cousin bid them all a night's rest, and Ben Solo was alone again. 

Coming into Brendol Hux's case and seeing the anger surrounding his death, Ben knew that this wasn't going to be anything easy, nor expected. It was very far from a fraudulent mess, neither a robbery of pride or rank climbing. 

This case was engulfed with personal cruelty. 

The team could develop as many objectives as they liked about Hux senior's death: they didn't know why it happened. He was a bad father, but even his son had made it clear that there wasn't even a relationship to be vengeful about. 

Armitage could also be lying. 

Needless to say, the death of Brooks and the evidence in his apartment proved that perhaps there was another cog within motion- one which was about to unfurl messily.   
Like a malevolent demon, the true nature of why Brendol had been practically eaten alive, why Brooks was now in forty different pieces was about to slip from shadows.

Ben gave a loud groan and dragged the pillow over his face. Sleep was near impossible and had been for almost the entire two weeks. 

The traffic rumbled underneath the window of his hotel room as London tirelessly moved around him, even in the dead of night. Sirens, car honks, loud, abrasive engines speeding past- the heartbeat of any city. A pulsing, unhealthy heart working to keep itself alive. 

A small voice planted a dangerous idea: 

_Why not go back to the bar? He could be there._

A dangerous and selfish desire; drawing himself closer to Armitage Hux was probably one of the worst decisions to make considering the case he was working on - the case Armitage's father was the epicentre of – had declined into murky waters. 

It also made no sense to Ben. Why was he suddenly so enraptured by him? 

"He's a suspect." He spat to Nothing and rolled over, punching his pillow into a comfortable formation.   
  
Ben woke with little enthusiasm. Each day was getting harder. A preverbal brick laid on his back every day that came. It had been foolish to assume that his problems would vanish the moment he crossed the pond. 

The phone buzzed on the messy bedside table, and Ben leant across the rest of the bed, hitting answer. "Rey." 

"You sound raring to go as usual." Her sarcastic tone filled the room. "Poe is here." 

"Who?" 

"Shit, sorry- Poe is our tech guy. He's actually been at the station all night cracking Brook's laptop. I think it's ridiculous that security just let him waltz in like that considering the safety precautions we have to take each day-" 

"Rey!" Ben cut off the premature rant beginning to form. 

"Sorry, sorry..." She grumbled. "Anyway, he's completely into Brook's devices. Wants us to go through it with him." 

It felt like someone had just injected him with ten litres of caffeine straight to his veins; any melancholic lethargy had vanished and been replaced with buzzing vitality. 

"I'll meet you there." Ben hung up. 

As Ben strode into the station, Rey took one look at him then grimaced. "Ben, be honest. When was the last time you took a shower?" 

He chose to ignore her and breezed past. "Where's this guy?" 

"Conference room. Finn's already there." 

The cousins walked in, and Finn stood from the table. "Hey." 

The stranger smiled at Rey then looked to Ben, holding out his hand. "Poe Dameron. Ben Solo, right?" 

Ben met his handshake then sat down once everyone was seated themselves. "Got something to show us?" 

Poe tapped the laptop's lid then pushed it open, connecting it to the screen in front of them. "I'm not entirely sure what you're looking for, but I did find some pretty suspicious stuff. He was hiding documents within folders within folders. Trying to create a labyrinth of some sort." 

"Our man Brooks thought this was the best way to hide incriminating material?" Finn raised an eyebrow. 

"Like a teenage boy trying to hide porn." Poe scoffed before taking a long gulp of coffee. "Shall we start looking?"   
  
"Let's just start clicking things." Rey sighed as she paced the room, hands-on hip. 

Poe complied and began scouring through the folders and documents. At first, it was Nothing particularly interesting nor helpful to the case. Brooks had been dealing in shady business, stock from the black market, tax evasion like every other six-figure business person in the city- but Nothing that stood out remotely dangerous. 

"Unless a vengeful taxpayer murdered him, I'm not quite sure what you're looking for," Poe said as he glanced to the frustrated looking Rey. 

"I don't believe for a second that bloody tax evasion is the most incriminating thing on this laptop," Rey grumbled as she pushed a hand through her hair. 

"What about the notebook?" Ben offered as he stood and grabbed it from the evidence box, rifling to the middle pages. "These words have to mean something." 

Rey took the book from her cousin, worrying her lip through her teeth before tossing the book to Poe. "Try these." 

Poe nodded and settled back into his tech nook, his fingers whirring over the keyboard. 

"Ben," Rey said quickly as she noticed him stand. "Can I have a word with you? Privately?" 

Ben paused with surprise before gesturing her out of the door, following behind and to her messy desk. 

"Sit." 

"I feel like I'm in the principal's office about to have my ass handed to me." Ben snorted as he sat opposite her. "What did I do?" 

"Nothing! I just-" Rey began, suddenly a bit less confident then she was before. "I'm just worried about you." 

"Why?" Ben demanded a bit too quickly. 

"Because I know you more then you think I do, and definitely more then you give me credit for." Rey began, her arms crossed. 

"Rey-" 

"No." She lifted a hand and silenced him. "You're going to listen. I'm just worried; I can't remember the last time I saw you eat anything, and to be frank, you smell rank and look like shit. Is something going on, Ben? Is everything okay?" 

_I think I'm depressed, but I'm scared._

"I'm fine." Ben lied quickly. "Honestly." 

Rey didn't look convinced, and he didn't blame her. 

"I need you to be honest with me." She placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Please." 

Before Ben could lie his way out of Rey's grip, Poe pulled open the door and looked at them. "I think I found something."   
Saved from Rey's concern, he jumped from the chair and headed inside.

Once gathered around, Ben noticed Poe's grim expression. 

"So I deep searched his laptop using these keywords from the notebook, and I found a folder, which contains," Poe trailed off, deciding it was best to see for themselves. 

Silence hung heavy as Poe wordlessly showed them the contents. 

Ben's hunch had been correct, even though he really wished he had been wrong. 

"An exploitation ring." Rey broke the silence with a hoarse comment. 

"Four keywords, four victims," Poe muttered. "And it also reveals who's the assaulters; Brooks, Brendol Hux and some other guys we don't know yet." 

Silence hung over them again. 

"So," Ben sat forward on his elbows, breaking the uncomfortable quiet. "Hux and his colleagues ran this... sexual exploits ring with four unwilling participants. One of the victims had enough, decides to lash out and take revenge." 

"Do you blame him?" Finn said absently, still staring at the projector. 

"Question is, who?" Rey sighed as she looked between the victims. 

"Also, where's the fifth guy?" 

Rey and Finn gave Ben puzzled looks. 

"There was a page torn out; someone else was in that book-" 

"Are you positive that means there was a fifth person in the exploitation? Rey said slowly. "It could have also meant many other things." 

"Actually, I think Ben is right." Poe chimed in before bringing up another document. "There's a page of monetary transactions, like a ledger of sorts. Each month, there are money transfers that match each victim, but now and then, there is the fifth transaction, with considerably more zeroes attached to the price. However- no name. Only marked down with an X." 

"So Ben's right? There was another person that Brook's didn't want anyone finding?" Rey walked to their evidence board. Rey looked just as confused as Ben felt. "What we have so far; one of the victims, or maybe all of them, decides enough is enough- kills Brendol. Brooks and the other patrons of Brendol's gang go into a panic and flee. Brooks goes home to either hide or run away, whilst hiding the evidence- but something happens, and he takes the plunge off Arkanis tower." 

"Would explain how they got Brendol alone in the first place," Finn added to Rey's monologue. 

"Where's everyone else?" Ben asked. "Cardinal disappeared, Brooks and Hux are dead. That leaves three more unaccountable." 

Rey put her hands together. "Let's bring in the exploitation victims. Starting asking questions that will gain us answers." 

Ben quickly took his list and vacated the room before Rey could corner him again. 

*

"Any success?" Finn asked after a couple of hours as he found Ben in a quiet corner of the office he had commandeered. 

"The closest lead I had was one of the guys who was part of the ring but actually managed to leave. He fled four years ago and moved to Australia, hasn't left the country since. Alibi's check out nicely, and he praised the guy who killed Brendol before hanging up on me." Ben sighed as he dropped his folder and looked up to the other detective. 

"Sounds about right. I would be surprised if it weren't anything but happy." 

Ben made a noise of agreement and looked out of the window. 

The moral battle to sympathise with the victims of Brendol's cruelty and the innate need to do his job and catch the murderer has been subconsciously eating away at his brain. 

Another thought that nibbled at his mind; what did Armitage Hux know? Did he know anything? 

Was Armitage complicate with his father's crime, or did he have an idea of what had been going on? 

"Well, I did get some success," Finn said as he sat with Ben. "Might have found another guy part of Brendol's 'sicko squad'." 

"Yeah?" Ben took the folder that Finn handed him and flicked through it. 

"Edrison Peavey. He was pretty good friends with Brooks and seemed to be a frequent visitor in Brendol Hux's visitor logs, usually at the same time as Brooks." Finn explained. 

"Have you called him in?" 

"Squad car left a couple of minutes ago to go retrieve him." Finn nodded before handing another document to Ben. "This is Dopheld Mitaka, one of the victims in Brendol's ring. He's pretty local too. Rey's on her way back with him." 

"Okay." Ben nodded, more optimism seeping in. "Anything on the others?" 

"One's dead. Committed suicide a year ago." Finn replied grimly. "Trying to hunt down the other." 

Ben let out a deep sigh and placed the paper back onto the desk. "Who would have thought?" He mumbled absently. 

"That Hux senior actually deserved it?" Finn snorted. "Rich white man murdered, the vibe was always going to be off." 

Finn was right, as usual. Ben worked on these past cases; what seemed like a substandard murder was usually coated dishonesty. 

"We'll have to pull Armitage Hux in," Finn mentioned as he tidied up his evidence. 

"Why?" Ben demanded quickly. 

"Because he might know something?" Finn said warily, eyebrows furrowing at Ben's strange outburst. 

_Shit... why the fuck did I say that?_

"Yeah, you're right, sorry... need coffee or something..." Ben trailed off as he quickly busied himself with the closest task to him- a desperate attempt to hide his embarrassment from Finn. 

"Finn, Ben-" Rey called as she strode into the room. "We have Mitaka." 

Dopheld Mitaka quivered with nervousness. His large eyes shifted around the small interrogation room, darting from each wall and to the mirror. He wrung his hands often, sweaty from nerves. 

"Ben, you'll sit in with me, but I'll talk to him. The last thing I want is him falling apart because you have as much sincerity as a hornet." 

Ben opened his mouth with a noise of hurt. 

"Finn- I want you to keep at getting Peavey and finding the last victim." Rey ignored Ben, shuffling through the interrogation notes before striding into the room, and insulted Ben Solo in tow. 

"Hello, Dopheld." Rey began with a smile as she sat opposite him. 

The man only responded with a nervous squeak, hands shaking as his eyes nervously darted between the two detectives. 

"Are you aware why you're here today?" Rey spoke softly. 

"H-He's dead." Mitaka stammered. 

"Who?" 

"Brendol Hux." Just saying the name inflicted pain on Mitaka's face. 

"Where were two weeks ago, on Monday?" Rey continued. 

"I was at the care home just outside of Hackney. I was visiting my mother. She has dementia." Mitaka mumbled. 

"Can anyone confirm this?" 

"Y-yeah. There were two-night nurses on duty. I can give you their contact details and the address of the care home if you wish." Dopheld wiped his hands then shakily scribbled down the details on the paper Rey handed him. 

The two detectives exchanged a glance. Already Ben knew Mitaka's likelihood of being the murderer had plummeted- but it didn't mean he wasn't privy to the information. 

Rey seemed to have the same train of thought. 

"Dopheld, we knew that you were part of a sexual exploitation ring. Could you tell us more about it?" She asked him tenderly, the tender part of Rey creeping into the room. The function of Rey that Ben always sought comfort in. 

Dopheld took a shaky breath and, for a moment, just stared at the table. 

"Brendol promised me he'd help look after my mother." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Private dementia care isn't cheap... I was still in school. He said he'd pay for everything, as long as I joined this club of his." 

"And what was this club?" Rey murmured as she wrote a few notes down. 

"He held small, private parties. There were five of us boys, and we'd... do what the guests wanted." 

"Five?" Ben piped up suddenly, startling Mitaka. 

"I-" His eyes widened. "I meant four." 

Ben sat back in disappointment, his jaw tightening. 

"Who attended the parties? Can you give us names?" Rey continued. 

"It was always the same group of men. Brendol didn't trust anyone else. I didn't know the names. I just knew faces." 

Rey nodded and opened the file she had prepared earlier, getting pictures out. "Could you help us?" 

Mitaka once again gave a trembling nod. 

Together they spent the next thirty minutes giving Dopheld pictures, getting as much information as the poor man could provide. What businesses they belonged to, distinguishing features- anything that would narrow down the search for both the culprit, the assaulters, and even victims. 

Most of the suspicion Ben held against Dopheld had all but disappeared; he was just a traumatised kid in desperate need to forget the horrors he had been dragged through.

Ben seriously doubted that Dopheld could even go in the Arkanis tower's vicinity, let alone murder Brendol Hux. 

"What about him?" Ben asked, sliding a picture over to the man. 

He saw many emotions flit over Dopheld's face as he took the photo of Armitage Hux. 

"This is Armitage Hux. Brendol's son." 

"Was he part of the group who assaulted you?" Ben hated to ask the question, but he needed to know. 

"No!" Mitaka exclaimed quickly. "No... he was nice. Nothing like... them." 

"Was he the fifth victim?" Rey asked. 

Dopheld hesitated for a fraction of a second. "No. He cared for us when the others weren't paying attention." 

Ben was both satisfied and unsure, all in the same breathe. Armitage wasn't a monster like this father, but he had known something was happening. Something still felt off. 

"Thank you, Dopheld. I can't begin to imagine how hard this was for you." Rey smiled sadly at him. "Contact us any time you need anything, or if you remember any more details." 

Mitaka nodded, and with one final look to Ben, he left the room.   


After a short recess, the group met once again in the conference room, minds full of faces and names. Rey had set up another evidence board purely for the new information they had received from Mitaka. 

"Dopheld helped identify four of Brendol's gang, two of which we already know. Brooks is dead, Cardinal- who Mitaka confirmed did partake in the activities- is missing. The last two is Edrison Peavey, whom we're currently trying to pull in to the station and finally, a man called Moden Canady." 

Finn made a noise of disgust. 

"In terms of our assault victims, one is in Australia with a full alibi. The second person died last year, and the third was out of town. We spoke to Dopheld today." Rey continued explaining. "Now, we have a reason to believe there is a fifth victim, but why there is so much secrecy around them, I don't know." 

"Someone famous?" Finn offered. 

"Potentially. Regardless, we need to debunk if there was a fifth person and if there was, who are they and why are they hiding." 

Silence fell over the team. Ben had been the most silent of them all. 

Mental exhaustion had been slowly eroding at him, a lethargic cloud slowly descending over him like monsoon season for a rainforest. 

The cloud partially cleared as people began to move around him. Finn and Poe talked about seeing a movie whilst Rey had her phone balanced between her ear and shoulder, talking feverishly with Rose about what they were having for dinner. 

Ben quickly gathered his things and left before the loneliness could creep in. He thought he heard someone call after him, but he didn't stop to find out.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm gleesuns on twt!
> 
> once again, thanks to those who support me <3


	5. V

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, this is self-indulgent benarmie time! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been super patient and supportive, it means so much to me and keeps me very motivated to keep on going <3  
> I also have a playlist on Spotify for the fic!   
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/034JfouaPcpkfGLHHvL55t?si=AgMs84PZR1K8zZRJj-KggA

"Edrison Peavey is missing." Silence rang throughout the station as Finn grimly addressed his co-workers. 

"You've got to be joking." Rey gaped.

"I wish I was. Housekeeper reported him missing when the squad car failed to pick him up a couple of days ago." 

"Fuck." Rey hissed before she stood. "We can't hide this anymore. Call a press conference. This case is officially a homicide." 

A sullen mood hung over the office. Finn gave a silent nod before walking off to his desk. 

No one dared bother Rey as she stewed in her thoughts. An agitated look fell over her face. She was, in a way, much like Ben in the sense that Rey hated being clueless.   
Speaking of which... 

"Where's Ben Solo?" 

Ben's feet pounded on the pavement. He'd been running for hours, a constant, unrelenting track from his hotel all along the Thames. He'd moved past staying in bed, feeling sorry for himself. He decided to run from his problems instead. 

Ben was good at that. 

In his pocket, he felt his phone vibrate. Finally coming to a stop, Ben leant against the cool concrete wall using the time to catch his breath. He knew who it was – missing the morning briefing had been a surprisingly easy choice with dangerous consequences.   
  
_'I hope the reason you missed work this morning was good. - Rey'_  
  
The guilt he felt was fleeting as he broke back into his run.   
  
Nearly three weeks had passed since Ben's arrival to London; three weeks of mind-numbing chaos from both the murder and his own mental deprivations. Each time he allowed himself to think back to Chicago, he wondered why it hadn't been so bad then- or if it had, why he never noticed until now. 

Perhaps it was due to him being left alone? Or maybe it took a wholly different environment to see the mess that indeed laid before him. 

Ben didn't see sense in it. Why now? 

He came to another grinding halt, his chest heaving. Fatigue was slowly creeping up his spine. 

He could call home. He _should_ call home. 

The one person that could shed some light on Ben's woes was also the last person he wanted to speak to. 

None of this was Leia's fault- Ben accepted that when he touched down in London. It was his own mental greed and desire not to blame himself or succumb to the logical explanation that made him desperately search for someone to blame, and his mother had been the best option. 

It was wrong.   
  
Ben propped himself against the same continuous concrete wall that cupped the Thames, listening to waterway traffic. The distant horn of a trawler, the chugging of water. The gentle laps of the muddy river bumping against anchored canal boats. 

All of this was different from home. He wished he could enjoy it more. 

"Surely the whole point of running is actually to run." A voice drawled to his left. 

Ben whipped his head up, ready to throw a scathing remark when his eyes met the same pale green eyes he'd seen before. 

Armitage Hux walked towards him, still dressed in the same dark pea coat but this time with a dark suit on underneath. Classy. 

"You're one to comment. I'd suggest you take up weight training if I weren't certain a kilogram wouldn't make you snap in half." Ben threw back with a disgruntled glare. 

Armitage seemed completely unphased as he came to a stop next to him. "What brings the good detective so far from your underground lair?" 

It seemed Hux junior was full of quick wit today. Ben liked it. 

"A desperate need for vitamin D." 

"Ah." Armitage nodded as if he somewhat understood. 

"And you?" Ben asked as he used the bottom of his t-shirt to wipe at his forehead. 

"Even in death, my father won't let me enjoy some personal time." The man sighed as he adjusted his leather glove before rolling his eyes at Ben's quizzical squint. "Meetings involving the monetary transitions of his testament. Sorry, it's not scandalous enough for you, though I'm sure you've dug deep enough in my personal life to know that scandal doesn't often happen in my social bubble." 

"No comment." 

Armitage gave him that rare smile before standing straight. "Would love to stand around and chat in your manly musk, but I have better things to do." 

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of sweat," Ben smirked as he stood up himself. 

"There's a difference between basic hygiene and simmering in ball sweat." Hux tutted with a grimace. "Besides, I don't hate sweat. It would solely depend on why I perspired." 

Armitage's eyes burned into Ben's, and he could feel the heat crawling up into his cheek before he cleared his throat. Hux gave a satisfactory smirk before turning. "My friend, the woman who runs the bar, is having a discount event tonight at eight." And with that, Armitage Hux walked away. 

Ben felt floored. He always did when Armitage spoke to him. 

He shook off his stupor, mentally scolding himself as he ran back to his hotel for acting like a teenage school girl. 

He was a suspect. On a case that Ben was deeply involved with. There was no chance in hell that Ben was going to dig that grave further and put himself in a whole pile of trouble, or even worse, get thrown off the case. 

As much as he desired to follow Armitage around in Soho bars' deep recesses, Ben needed to set his head on straight. He knew he was in the proverbial dog house with Rey for not going to work. The last thing he wanted was to be caught bar diving with the murder victims son. 

By the time he'd arrived back in his hotel room, he'd made a clear decision- he wouldn't go. 

He grabbed a bottle of water and chugged the remnants before chucking it into the bin. 

He had to do the most important thing right now, which was getting back on Rey's good side, which was achievable with one mocha (cream and marshmallows for good measure), and a strawberry doughnut fresh with a puppy eyed _'sorry'_. 

Just as Ben was heading into the bathroom to shower, from the corner of his eye, he saw his phone come alive. 

Unknown number. 

Odd. 

Dropping the towel, Ben crossed the room in a few steps and pressed answer, holding the phone to his ear. "DI Solo?" 

"Ben Solo." Snoke's voice crept into his eardrum. A shiver went down Ben's spine. 

"Chief." Ben blinked as he worried his lip between his teeth. "What do I, uh, owe the pleasure?" 

Had Rey told Snoke about his behaviour? 

"I was just going over the interview tape with DI Skywalker and Dopheld Mitaka." 

Relief spread over him like a warm bath. "Oh. What did you think?" 

"It's… interesting. What do you think regarding Mitaka's motive?" Snoke droned through the speaker. 

"I don't think he has one." Ben shrugged. "Mitaka was abused by authority, but I also think he's not mentally capable of murdering anyone." 

There was a pause at the end of his sentence. "I see." 

Ben was baffled. Did he detect disappointment from his superior? Sure, they were no closer to arresting the perpetrator then they were at the start- but it meant that at least one person was cleared. 

"Ben, do you remember when I said to you that even if our suspect didn't commit the crime, to keep the peace, we have to put the blame down regardless?" 

Ben did remember, and he hated that he did. 

"I understand that sir, but-" 

"I'm shocked you're resisting already. I thought your job was important to you?" Snoke gave a long sigh as if suffering a lifetime of disappointment. As if his favourite son disobeyed him. 

"It is," Ben said quietly. 

"Clearly not enough to help your department out. I can help you achieve what you want, Ben Solo, but not without some work from you." Snoke's monotonous tone drilled into Ben's skull. "Convict Dopheld Mitaka. Get this case closed before it becomes messier than it already is." 

And with that, a sharp click and silence. 

Ben stood in silence, phone held limply in his hand. He couldn't move; he barely felt like he was breathing. He felt like a caged animal, waiting. Waiting for the predator to end his life sentence. 

There was no way he could push all of this onto Mitaka- the man barely managed to walk out of the interrogation room after thirty minutes talking about Brendol Hux. How the fuck would Ben sit in front of a long suffered victim and place two murder charges on him? Make him pay for a crime he never committed? From one life sentence to another? 

The answer was simple: he wasn't. 

Ben didn't love his job enough to drown in guilt for the rest of his miserable life; he had to navigate enough mental gymnastics each day to stop locking himself in his room and chugging a bottle of vodka like crisp water to a thirsty man. 

"Fuck." Ben mumbled wearily. He didn't even have the energy to be angry. All the renewed serotonin he had pumped around his brain from the exercise had evaporated. 

Dumping his phone on the nearest surface, he dragged himself into the shower to wash off the morning. The conversation with Armitage felt light-years away; the snarky banter that both left Ben speechless yet desperate was now a long distant memory. 

_'It would solely depend on why I perspired.'_

Even now, Ben couldn't help but smile slightly; Hux junior made flirting sound like a passage from a late eighteenth-century novella. Ben almost found it hard to believe that buried under all of the formalities was an Irishman. 

By the time Ben had finished showering, he had finally relented- he would see Armitage tonight. If Snoke wanted him to break the rules for ease of paperwork and reputation, then Ben was going to get blind drunk with the son of the man who beetles ate. 

Halfheartedly pulling on a fresh pair of boxers, Ben Solo collapsed on his bed and dragged the duvet over him before succumbing to a well-earned nap, his mind replaying the same image of the ginger man in the dark pea coat. 

It was merciful luck that he woke at seven with enough time to dress to meet Armitage, though he actually paused to take notice in what he wore for the first time in his life. To say that Ben wasn't vain would be a lie, he was his father's son after all, but as of late- he found it increasingly hard to put on anything then the same four hoodies he had brought with him. 

This time it felt different. 

After fussing with his appearance that was longer than necessary, he swiftly grabbed the tiny bottle of vodka that came with his even smaller fridge and threw it back in one. 

Liquid confidence hasn't hurt anybody. 

Walking to the tube station, Ben ignored the small voice at the back of his brain that told him this was primarily a bad idea. For once, he wanted to ignore the different voices fighting for his attention. For once, he tried to follow what Ben wanted to do.   
  
Soho was thriving when Ben arrived at London's social district, groups of people moving past him, unseeing and unbothered. A conglomerate of students and young adults, tourists, and locals hurry to their next destination, with Ben moving through them like the parting sea. He hoped that the bar wouldn't be this busy as he selfishly wanted Armitage's attention for his own. 

There was more to him that Ben yearned to know beyond the investigation and case file formalities. 

Pushing open the door, he was relieved to see that the bar held the same population consistency as the last time he and Armitage had met. A handful of people stood at the bar, one or two tables full but mostly, emptiness. Stood at the bar, listening to the female bartender talk about something, was Armitage. The usual dark pea coat had been swapped for a warmer looking coat, another smart-casual ensemble by the man with burnished copper hair. 

The bartender paused in her rant, back straightening as she met Ben's eyes before turning to the back bar and began pouring two drinks. 

He joined Armitage's side as the man finished his drink. "Ben Solo, you came after all." 

"Did you doubt I would?" Ben took a seat. 

"I did." Hux shrugged slightly as he took the two drinks with thanks and handed one to Ben. "Shall we toast?" 

"To what?" 

Armitage gave a long thought before looking to Ben. "An interesting night." 

Not the weirdest thing he'd toasted to, but he agreed. After the morning he had, he wanted nothing but an evening of surprises. 

After raising his glass and taking a long sip of his drink, Ben let out a low sigh. 

"Was the day really that bad?" Armitage looked at him. 

"Surprisingly, yes." Ben grimly stared at the contents of his drink.   
"Can I ask about it, or is it classified?" Hux rolled his eyes when Ben gave him an apologetic smile. "Of course, it's classified." 

"Comes with the territory." Ben shrugged as he set the glass back down before turning more to look at Armitage. "I really don't want to think about today." 

"Say no more. To be honest, I feel the same way." Armitage stared down to his glass, a pale finger circling the rim. 

Ben watched him quietly before breathing in deeply. Both of them were dealing with skeletons in their closets, and Ben found comfort in that. 

They both sat in comfortable silence and drank for a while, loosening the tension that the two men both were holding deeply rooted in their muscles. 

"I've always wondered," Ben broke the silence. His heart stuttered when the pale green eyes met his. "You're from Ireland, but you don't sound Irish." 

Armitage barked laughter. "The age-old question: why doesn't the Irishman sound Irish?" 

"Dock mock me. I'm curious." The detective scowled as his cheeks grew hot. 

"My father didn't like it. At the nearest opportunity, he stamped the accent out-thought it was dirty and improper." Hux finally sighed, breaking his eye contact with Ben. "It's not something I mourn." 

"I think it would have suited you," Ben said before he could close his mouth and heart. 

Armitage raised an eyebrow and looked back to Ben before giving him a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "If you're lucky enough to survive the night, you may still hear it; it tends to slip out when I drink too much." 

"Next round is on me then," Ben smirked. 

"I may not sound Irish, but I can drink like one," Armitage warned, but Ben could hear the playfulness in the taunt. He could hear the challenge. 

And Ben wasn't going to say no. 

"Tell me more about yourself?" Ben asked after their fifth drink. Both he and Hux had very much relaxed from their previous tensions, and their bar stools drew closer to each other.

"Beyond what I already know about you. From the investigation." 

Armitage gaped at him. "No wonder you're single if that's your pick-up lines." 

"Ouch?" 

"You want to get to know someone, so instead of being a normal human being, you just tell them, 'oh we'll skip the boring information because I already have a three-page profile including where you live and your blood type- so what's your star sign?'" Hux shook his head, staring in disbelief at Ben, who had already sunk his head into his hands with shame.

"God, you're right." Ben groaned. 

"I like to paint," Armitage said finally after he finished judging Ben. "Nothing incredible, just landscapes. I prefer places rather than people." 

Definitely a statement Ben could agree with. It was a trait passed down from his father; Han Solo had always preferred his dog's company with an open road then busy dinner parties that his wife had thrown. When Ben had been born, Han realised that his son also preferred the empty space to crowded civilisation. 

"I don't have the patience for art that's complicated or is trying to make you guess the moral message behind the paint. Nature doesn't lie to you." Armitage further explained before frowning slightly at Ben. "What?" 

Before Armitage had caught him, Ben had been savouring the taste of the accent that had slipped from Hux's mouth. 

_Art._

The way the R rolled off his tongue, the jaunty pronunciation of the T. It was soft, barely there, but Ben had caught it. 

"Nothing! You just remind me of my father. He's very much the same, minus the artistic flare. He prefers to go on long drives away from the city." Ben saved himself swiftly, even though he wasn't quite sure if Armitage believed him enough. 

"What are your parents like?" 

A question for the ages. What were his parents like? Ben didn't want to do them imperfect justice by giving a biased view from his muddled brain, yet, it had been so long since he sat back and truly appreciated who his parents were. 

"My father used to work for the police department but got fired, and my mother works for the government," Ben answered loosely, the tension returning to his shoulders. 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Armitage give him another questioning gaze, but mercifully, he dropped it. 

"Another drink?" Ben asked. "I have a feeling you're going to drink me under the table regardless." 

Armitage Hux gave him a shit-eating grin before flagging down the bartender. 

Hours had rolled by as the boys continued to drink. Their conversation drifted from many different angles; personal grievances, hobbies, aspirations. Ben had told Armitage numerous stories about his time in the police force from the rookie years to his antics only months before his confrontation with Holdo. He was glad Armitage seemed to enjoy them- and not a fake enjoyment he sometimes saw on the people his mother had pressed on to him during parties in an effort for Ben to mingle. 

However, Armitage did seem to express genuine enjoyment. It wasn't fake forced laughter; he gave him gleeful smiles and small shoulder shaking chortles. 

The pair had moved from the bar to an alcove, both further from rowdy students' noise and more intimately seated together. Beside him, Ben could smell the aftershave Armitage wore- a gentle mix of vanilla and an unplaced wooden undertone. It smelt good, not a manufactured bottle sold at drugstores overused by desperate bachelors. 

The aroma of his aftershave and the slight lull of whiskey from his breathe made Ben feel drunker than he already was; Armitage Hux honestly could drink. But even now, with a bottle of aged whiskey between them, the other man succumbed to the alcohol as promised; the accent did slip more freely.   
  


Ben lived and breathed for Armitage's soft Irish accent nursed by the whiskey. The lilts and fast words, the rounded r's and high octave a's. He could hear Armitage Hux talk for hours, days even. He grew sick of hearing his own voice and desperately craved to listen to his mysterious companion, who had assured him he had no stories. 

It was a crime.

For someone as captivating as Armitage, he should have been laden with fascinating tales- not a boring American detective like Ben, with his loud and abrasive accent. 

Ben wanted to get lost in the sounds Armitage made, which was a statement that scared him because he didn't know what that meant. Was it purely conversational, or was there something else Ben wanted? 

He'd be lying if something hadn't been hanging in the air at this point.

The distance had all but closed between them, from bar stools to sharing a booth. The other leather seat had been abandoned; there was no need for it. They were practically knee to knee, facing each other in an entire world of their own. Ben didn't want to leave this atmosphere- he wanted to live for eternity in these very seconds. 

"You've had this stupid expression on your face for the past five minutes." Armitage broke Ben's stupor; jade eyes narrowed at him. 

"Going to be completely honest, but I'm just mesmerised by your accent." Ben held his hands up in defeat. "Typical American, I apologise." 

Armitage rolled his eyes before the eyes flitted to Ben's hand. Wordlessly, he took the large palm and brought it closer before placing his own hand against Ben's. It was evident Ben would outsize him- it was both a blessing and curse that he was born three sizes bigger than most people. 

Drove Leia mad when he went through his growth spurt and would need new clothes every other month. 

"My mother still wonders how I got so big," Ben mentioned softly. "As you can imagine, clothes shopping was traumatic for her." 

Another soft smile from his companion, but no comment came. Whatever was going through Armitage's mind was causing a conflict of a kind; Ben could see it behind his eyes.   
  
Slowly Armitage gently dropped his own fingers between Ben's. With their hand entwined, it was still a massive difference in size. Not threatening nor abnormal, comfortable. 

Ben felt like the last piece of the puzzle had been laid down. Throughout the night, it was like they had been playing a mental game of jigsaw puzzles, each of them laying down pieces to piece together a whole picture slowly. 

With his hand in Armitage's, he could clearly see now. 

How much had Ben denied himself over the past few years? Caught in an endless trap of self-pity and loathing, cutting himself off from even the smallest of pleasures?   
In front of him was a personal warmth- a pleasure so close to touching he'd be mad to walk away. How many times had he walked away? Walked away from the smallest treasures? 

He couldn't let this one treasure go. 

With his free hand, he very carefully laid it on Armitage's flushed neck. The other man didn't back away nor recline. Armitage's eyes seem to egg him on, coax him closer. 

It was a soft kiss, gentle and experimental. Two pairs of lips very carefully brushing against each other just to see what would happen. The ground didn't crack open to smite them; neither did the entire police force crash through to yank them apart. 

Just the gentle lull of a Friday evening. Two lost souls moulding around each other. 

Ben could taste the lingering whiskey on Armitage's lips which had softly parted, their breath pushing against each other. 

Armitage pushed for the next kiss, more demanding and confident. Their noses bumped next to each other, Hux pulling his hand free from Ben's to bring it to the detective's jaw. 

Ben Solo was utterly, hopelessly lost to Armitage Hux. Each kiss was better than the last, each touch between them as intoxicating as the next- he was addicted. 

Soon enough, Armitage's only exposed skin wasn't sufficient, and the selfish crave for more was itching a fire up his spine. To know what else was there for him to explore, to move his fingers along the expanse of soft alabaster skin. 

"Ben?" Armitage breathed into Ben's mouth, pulling back just enough to look up to him. 

He returned an intoxicated grunt, his thumb trailing the sharp cheekbone. 

"Come back to my apartment with me." 

His prayers answered. 

"Yes." Ben didn't hesitate, stealing another long kiss before pulling back from the cloud of Armitage. "I'm going to settle the bill and use the toilet, and then I'll be back." 

Ben was surprised he was able actually to walk to the men's bathroom. Finally, in what felt like normality, he let out a shaky breath and braced the sink. 

If anyone at the police station had seen him if anyone knew- 

No.

Ben couldn't do this here, not now. Rules are damned. This has been the best he's felt in years. Ben wasn't going to deny himself that. 

He splashed his face to lessen the intoxication from the alcohol and Armitage before heading to the door- until something caught his eye. By the cubicle was a crudely put together bookshelf. At first, it seemed like a stupid place to put books, but with the note typed on the top, it made more sense.   
  
RETURN THE BOOK AFTER YOU'VE DUMPED!   
  
Ben snorted, shaking his head. He was about to leave, but one particular book spine caught his attention. 

A guide to southern American beetles. 

Even in his drunken stupor, Ben knew that the coincidence alone was odd. Ben mentally chastised himself as his detective's brain turned on, walking closer and crouching in front of the bookcase. He pulled the book out carefully, using the hem of his coat to not put his own fingerprints on it, and looked at the cover.

He shouldn't be doing this, not with Armitage waiting for him- 

Ben flicked through the pages, his eyes scanning until they landed on what he was looking for. The Parnassos beetle stared back at him. 

"Shit." Ben breathed, eyes falling shut. 

He knew he'd have to report this in, but how he'd manage to conceal his and Armitage's secret, feign his innocence yet lawfully acquire this book as evidence was essentially tiptoeing a skinny rope. 

He pushed it back and breathed in heavily. That was for tomorrow's headache, not now. 

Ben Solo took a few moments to compose himself before heading out to the main bar. From the end, he could see Armitage looking displeased as the blonde bartender animatedly scolded him, a stern look set on her face. 

"Everything okay?" Ben frowned as he walked over. 

The moment was shattered as Armitage blinked then gave him a sheepish smile. "Phasma always tells me off when I drink too much." 

Ben doubted that as much but smiled nonetheless. 

Her name did ring a distant bell, but he pushed aside along with all other logical thought. She gave him a stiff smile as she rang up his tab before shooting Hux another look, to which he ignored pointedly. 

With a quick thank you, Ben and Armitage left the bar and walked into the cold air. Armitage disappeared into his coat and led his tall companion down the street. 

"I live in the Mayfair district. Do you want to take the tube or walk?" Armitage asked him. 

"We can walk." Ben smiled gently, and for a moment, they walked in silence. 

The night was crisp and not too busy. People were either in the bars or at home, spending their Friday's how they liked. Ben didn't predict his Friday would end like this, but he certainly wasn't complaining. 

The feeling of being completely alive deep in his chest, even when there was a separation between him and Armitage. 

"Do you like being a detective?" Armitage asked suddenly, eyes still forward. 

"Hm. I guess I do?" Ben frowned. He hadn't thought about it before. "I mean, I'm still working in the department." 

"You can work a job you hate." 

That was true. Ben didn't believe he hated being a detective, but there had been times when he questioned his position. But work was all he had. 

"I've never really put much thought behind whether I like it or not. Don't get me wrong, the reward of solving a case and closing a chapter in someone's life is enough to keep pushing on but, there are times when I wish I had gone down a different path." Ben explained. "Why?" He looked to Hux. 

"No reason." Armitage shrugged, but Ben could see that same conflict again. 

The two men walked in a comfortable silence once more. They weren't far from where Armitage lived when Ben's phone rang, loud and intrusive. 

"I better get this," Ben muttered apologetically before turning away, putting the ear to his phone. "Yeah?" 

"We found Peavey." 

Nothing about that sentence filled Ben was hope, and the night of finally seeing all of Armitage Hux had shattered before him. 

"Where?" Ben asked wearily. 

"London Bridge. Rey's there now." 

"I'm on my way." Ben forced out before hanging up and looking to Armitage. 

The younger man gave him a small if a bit sad smile before turning on his heel and walking away. Ben watched Armitage's retreating back, anger and regret boiling through his veins and up into his throat. 

The detective walked in the opposite direction, his dark eyes hard and hateful as he stalked to the crime scene.   
  
It hadn't taken him long to reach his destination, and as he ducked under the police tape, he strode over to where Rey was stood at the edge, cold air billowing out from around her. She took one look at Ben then away. 

"A dog walker called it twenty minutes ago." She explained, her hands shoved deep into her pockets. 

"So where is he?" Ben's voice was hard. 

Rey said nothing but nodded over the edge. He followed her gaze to the police boats pointing floodlights along the railings, and Ben followed it along until he saw the body of Peavey hanging there. 

All of the anger fell out of him. 

"He was hung from London Bridge?" Ben gaped. "How?" 

"I guessed that this happened only hours ago. Enough time to be hidden in the dark, but soon enough to be discovered." Rey said with a deep sigh as she observed two firemen haul the rope up. "We're now classifying the case as a homicide. Finn is holding the press conference tomorrow." 

The alcohol in his system roiled around his stomach, all euphoric momentum that had fuelled him evaporating. His evening with Armitage felt like a distant memory. 

Once Peavey was back on land, the two detectives watched from a distance as work was made to secure the body properly. It wasn't until they were called over that they got a good look at him. 

Bluefaced and battered, Peavey looked like a nightmare. 

"Something was in his hand." One officer brought over a crumpled piece of paper, handing it to Rey, who opened it up with a frown. 

"Fuck." She breathed, her eyes widening before looking to Ben and handing over the paper. "Found the fifth victim." 

Ben frowned at Rey before looking down. 

Armitage Hux stared back. 

Ben's jaw tightened before he thrust the picture into Rey's hand and threw up on the curb. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @gleesuns on twt if u wanna shout at me <3

**Author's Note:**

> shout out to Lena for being my hype squad, and Iggy for being my human Wookiepedia!
> 
> if u wanna follow me on twt I'm @gleesuns <3


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